It should have exercised this responsibility in full and fought for such rules. Instead, a majority in Parliament has allowed the Council to impose its own rules, purely and simply so that the Directive can be pushed through at first reading.

We are particularly pleased that the precautionary principle, which is held in sacred regard not just by my group of MEPs but by the large majority of MEPs in Parliament in general, features prominently in this report, and this should make European consumers feel that much is being done to secure the protection of their health as regards enzymes in food.

By way of derogation from Article 53 of this Regulation, where producer organisations have produced culinary herbs that are listed in Part IX of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007, namely saffron; thyme, fresh or chilled; basil; melissa; mint; origanum vulgare (oregano/wild marjoram); rosemary and sage, fresh or chilled, in 2008 and 2009, the value of the marketed production for those products for operational programmes implemented in those years shall be calculated as the actual value of the marketed production for the 12 month-period in which the operational programme was implemented.